Al had to miss this class, but he sent out the WOD before class. It looks simple, but it has a ton of mountain climbers. Also, you'll have to do left/right for a single rep, so you're going to feel it. Basically, it's business as usual for a CrossFit WOD.
The movements should be ones that you're familiar with, so there aren't any exercises that should give you pause. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean you can cheat on your form. Still, there's less risk of injury for these particular exercises, so feel free to push the pace. Just remember that you're going to use the dumbbells for a ton of reps, so grab weights that you can handle for the whole time.
Warm Up
- 25 jumping jacks
- 10 mountain climbers (left/right = 1)
- 10 arm circles
- 10 downward to upward
- 10 lunge to elbow
- 10 single arm dumbbell swings (5 on each side)
- 20 Russian twists with dumbbell (right/left = 2)
- 30 mountain climbers (right/left = 1)
Exercises
- Mountain Climbers
Get down on all fours, almost as if you were about to start a race. It's also a bit like being in a push up position with a bend at the waist, with only one leg back. From the starting position, simultaneously bring your lead leg back & your rear leg forward. Make sure that your lead leg also slides sideways, so that it is outside of your arm on that side. Do it again to switch the positioning of your legs, again making sure your lead leg ends up outside of your arm.
Both of your legs have to come forward one time to complete a single rep. For simplicity's sake, we describe that as "right/left = 1."
- Arm Circles
From a standing position, rotate your arm without extending your arm away from you. You're essentially making a windmill of your arm. Do this in both a clockwise and counter-clockwise motion for each arm, so that you fully warm up & stretch the muscles. Most people just do 10 rotations forward with one arm, 10 rotations backward with the same arm, and then they repeat this with the other arm.
- Downward to Upward
This is basically a "judo pushup" if you've ever heard of that. If you're familiar with yoga at all, the starting position should look like the "downward dog." Regardless, the starting position is very similar to the static inchworm: start standing and reach down with your hands several feet in front of you. It's a lot like a push up position with a noticeable bend at the waist (your butt will be a bit higher in the air than your chest or lower body). Lower your head towards the ground, then lower your chest and bring it forward in the same motion. It's not a straight up and down motion like a regular push up, it's more of an arc. You should also keep your lower body off the ground at all times. Continue the arc by straightening your arms and elevating your torso. When you finish the arc, your torso/chest should be facing forward with your lower body parallel to the ground. Now have your body travel the arc in reverse to complete the rep.
- Lunge to Elbow
This starts like any other lunge: from a standing position. Bring one leg forward in a straight line, and then bend your knees so that both your knees are bent at 90 degrees. The back knee should be close to the ground, and your front knee should be directly over your front foot (otherwise you're putting undue stress on your knees). One cue that can help some folks is to treat your lunge like you're going straight up and down with your front leg. Your knees don't quite have to touch the ground (you might get burns/scrapes that way), but come as close as you can to that.
Once your lead leg is forward and your knees are bent, reach down with your arms and touch the elbow on the side that's lunging forward to the inside of your calf. If your right leg is forward, touch your right elbow to the inside of your calf. If you can actually reach your elbow to your instep (the side of your foot), do that since that'll make it harder. Try to balance without reaching down your off hand, but if you need to, put your off-hand down on the ground to stabilize yourself.
If you need extra support, you can use your hands to push up off of the ground. Repeat the motion with the other leg coming forward to complete the rep. In other words, you have to lunge with both the right and the left leg coming forward for a single rep (or, "left & right = 1" for short)
- Single Arm Dumbbell Swing
You'll need a dumbbell for this (most people use 15 lbs), and remember to alternate which arm you use for reps. Regardless of which hand you use, you want a curve in your lower back (your lumbar), as if you were sticking out your chest and bending your lower back inward towards your spine.
Do a quarter squat and put the dumbbell between your legs, right around mid-thigh. Stand up, and as you do so, swing the dumbbell in front of you, keeping your arm locked. Because it's a single dumbbell, you want to swing the dumbbell until it is perpendicular to the ground, directly above your head. Bring it back to starting position to complete the rep.
You want to maintain a good lumbar curve the whole time, and you should bend your legs as you finish a rep. If you’re bending at the waist, you’re doing it wrong, and you might hurt your back.
- Russian twist with dumbbell
Sit down on the floor with your legs out in front of you, then lift both of your legs off of the ground. If you have lower back problems, it can help to cross your legs in the air, since it'll take a little bit of the strain off of your back. Lean back a tiny bit, just enough so that you feel your abs contract. You don't want to overextend your back, so don't lean back any more than 45 degrees.
With the weight in your hands, rotate so that the weight moves to one side of you. Touch the ground if you can, but the most important part is that your shoulders stay still during this movement. The idea is for your obliques (the side part of your abs) to do the work, so your core should be doing the rotation. It's possible to keep your abs motionless and just use your arms/shoulders to move the weight from side to side, but that's bad form. One way to think about it is to think that you want your arms about shoulder width apart at all times, and you want your head to be pointing straight ahead between your arms at all times.
Every time the dumbbell passes across your body, that's 1 rep (or, "right/left = 2" for short).
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